conference and they called for more heads to roll. we're going to hear from house speaker john boehner who just yesterday asked not who is going to lose their jobs over the irs mess, but who is going to jail. peter, let's start with that developing news that we just got in the last few minutes concerning the irs scandal and the fact that we could have a new person named head in a brief period of time, maybe later today. >> that's exactly right. i just learned that the president will appoint a new acting irs commissioner this week according to the white house. that person, of course, will replace the present acting irs commissioner, steven miller, would just yesterday the president announced said he would resigned as he was asked to by treasury secretary jack lew at the urging of president obama. we don't know anything more

specific about whether a permanent irs commissioner would be named. senior administration officials acknowledge that will be a tough process. they have to find somebody pretty good to fill this role that we'll be able to get through confirmation on the hill. but they recognized the need for that person to be someone who has bipartisan support, a top cop type of individual, perhaps a republican name that people are familiar with, someone who can put an end to this issue. right now, there's the potential they recognize that it can become a completely republican issue attacking the administration. they feel confidently this is a bipartisan issue and they are trying to make it very clear that they are equally angry with all americans on the topic. >> peter complained the top gap measures of just acting heads and a lot of people were scratching their heads when they learned miller was forced to resign, but might be sticking around until june. does this change any of that if someone is named the new acting head within the week or sooner? >> no. you asked a good question.

that's what we're trying to figure out the specifics of exactly how that transition takes place. make it very clear that steven miller is on his way out as he announced -- as the president announced and he put out in his own e-mail yesterday. he said he wasn't going to leave until early june. this would make it sound like that replacement is going to happen sooner than that. but there hasn't been a full time irs commissioner since doug shulman left late last year. his name has come up about the irs's targeting of conservative political groups, as well. this has been a void that this white house has been trying to fill for a significant period of time right now. >> peter, how are people reacting within washington especially after the president came out with what jack lew was forced to do. are people saying this is a reactive measure or proactive? >> i think the white house would say there is only so much they

could do while they're still waiting for the investigation. for that to be completed and as soon as it was done, as soon as they got it, the president made his remarks yesterday in the east room here at the white house. but this was a remarkable site that we witnessed in the matter of about 90 minutes, damage control on several separate fronts. i was in that briefing at the white house where they handed out those 100 benghazi e-mails and documents to try to put a arrest to it. on top of that, we also heard from the president on the issue of irs and just yesterday, as well, the white house asked congress through senator schumer's office to reinitiate the media shield law to try to put new protections in place for journalists. the white house is well aware. it's been on the defensive lately. the people have been accusing them of people passive, disenga disengaged, even slow in terms of its response and they're trying to turn the page and refocus as best they can on legislative issues.

that will be difficult to deal with today. there's a series of other things they're doing today. 3:45, the president will welcome the joint chiefs as well as the defense secretary chuck hagel will focus on the issue of sexual assault in the military. that is another issue the president is said to be furious about. there will be remarks addressing the issue of benghazi. the president will address the need for more security to be put in place with u.s. diplomatic compounds around the world. the white house inactivitying that on the benghazi issue, it shouldn't be a side show, but what it should be focused on is what the accounts ability review board figured, which was there were security lapses, security failure that's need to be soofld. >> peter, you talk about the joint chiefs meeting coming up, we have senator barbara coming

up with a bill she's trying to introduce, kirsten gillibrand coming forth, as well. in the next hour, you bring up the pret press conference that's supposed to happen with the president and the turkish prime minister. this is how syria and turkey relations become more tense in recent times, especially since syria and the problems with what we've been watching there has certainly taken a back burner to the issues that have approached this administration in the recent days. >> well, that's the case. obviously, there's been a lot on the president's plate here, but currently as president he has to multi task and he's going to hear it clearly as they're having the conversation in the bilateral meeting right now with the prm of turkey, that turkey feels like the red line has been crossed. it's confidence that its evidence shows the chemical weapon has been used just across its border in neighboring syria. they've been flooded with refugees coming in and they're asking for more assistance on

that front, as well. just a matter of days ago, the prime minister made it clear that he wants the united states to do more, recognizing that they need the cooperation of russia on this issue, as well. and they hope that that will be one of the elements as they can make good progress on it in the coming weeks. >> peter, great to see you. thanks for joining me. i appreciate it. i want to bring into the conversation james carvo, veteran democratic strategist. james, i know you've been paying very close attention to how everything has been going on at the white house, certainly in the last 24 hours talking with peter there. we know we saw president obama pretty angry last night, announcing the acting irs director is out. now we're hearing that a new acting director might be in, that announcement coming by tend of the week. also the announcement of the 100 pages of benghazi e-mails. with your experience and expertise, did the president come out a little too late on this in regard to the irs and in

regard to benghazi? is this all reactive or proactive? >> well, first, they're not related. benghazi, as joe cline pointed out today, is a scam, it's not a scandal. and this was already thoroughly investigated. it was pointed out that they didn't want to talk to us pp. so we know what happened in benghazi. the irs thing that's coming out, it has some legitimate questions here. the whole intellectual edifice collapsed, global cooling, expansionary austerity, that the deficit was going to ruin the united states and that the economy wasn't growing jobs and benghazi collapsed. now we're down to the cincinnati office of the irs. that's what we're going to have to deal with here for the next month and i think the president needs to get ahead of it and probably put a new person in there and find out what happened and report to the american people and it will burn itself out, too, and it will move to the next thing. >> the "new york times" as peter

baker wrote today this is getting a lot of play social media wise, but the president has talked longingly of going forward. a reference to the 1998 warren beatty movie to say what he really thought. right now, people on the right think that the president legitimized the irs issue as a real scandal and there is something for them to grab on to and put their teeth around. >> that's what they're down there. remember that the earth is warm and that the economy is growing, the deficit is shrinking, that health care costs are flat and out and benghazi was nothing and as i said, there may be something amiss in the cincinnati office of the irs. if there is, we should find out about it and fix it and if somebody did something wrong, they should be fired or brought to justice. amid the whole thing, we're fwound to the cincinnati office

of the irs and they're mad about it and so let's find out what happened and get the initial report. >> again, republicans do smell blood in the water. we had chuck todd on the daily rundown talking to marco rubio in the 9 ook a.m. hour. take a listen. >> there's no honest policy disagreement with this administration. and as a result, it's created this culture of intimidation that's pervasive throughout the white house and the federal government and i think all of this is a product of that. i really do. >> culture of intimidation. intimidation coming there from the irs towards certain tea parties, looking for tax exempt status. is that a proper perception to put out there? >> well, again, i said we should investigate the cincinnati office of the irs. in terms of i think we have a pretty good idea of what happened in terms of the subpoena, that there was a pretty good security breach in terms of a cia operation in yemen and the lawyers do it as

opposed to political people which probably he shouldn't have done in the first place. but at any rate, that's what happened. culture of intimidation has nothing to do with what happened in the ap thing. it was a lawyer with an overly broad subpoena that was given power bay political appointee. but i have no idea what senator rubio actually is talking about. >> james, it looks like it was an interagency issue with the talking back and forth with bengha benghazi. certainly the temperature has been taken down on benghazi when it was hot earlier. do you think this is really more of an attempt to scam, as you pointed out, to smear hillary clint clinton? >> yeah, of course it was. but the whole thing is out of

gas. remember from eighth grade science, energy just just disappear, it has to go somewhere else. as all of na dissipates, it has to go somewhere and now it's fixated on the cincinnati office of the irs. these guys are awfully frustrated right now. i think the white house got a -- has to live with this for 30 days, get the truth out and, you know, roll with the bunches here, that they're down to swinging pretty kwieldly, i think. >> back on the heels, veteran democratic strategist james carrville. thank you so much. >> appreciate it. >> that leaves out to our big question for you today. white house damage control. has president obama done enough so far? we'll get your twitter responses on the air. then a new move to stop sexual assaults in the military. who prosecutes these climbs to make the crimes more independent?

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this epidemic of sexual abuse cannot stand. we must take these allegations seriously. this is a critical bill to stop an epidemic. we're going to stop it and we're not going on be stopped. >> that was susan collins and barbara boxer speaking moments ago to allow new bipartisan legislation to reform the military justice system. this has the white house meeting with his joint chiefs of staff specifically to address the problem playingi inplaguing the military for decades. jeffrey kriczinski charged with

preventing sexual assault with heinous incidents. senator, it's good to have you here. you are cosponsoring this bill and senator kirsten gillibrand is with us today, as well. leon panetta elevated the level of investigation for the most serious sexual assault allegations where local unit commanders will be forced to report allegations of rape, forced sodomy and to a court-martial authority. did that initiative fail and is that why your bill needs to be passed? >> our bill is essential. and i think the best way to explain it to your viewers is this. we've got a 90% problem and a 1%

problem. the 1% problem is that 1% af f to trial are overturned by some commander who wasn't even at the trial. and that's 1% of cases. and everyone, i think, agreed we're going to fix that. but here is the situation. the 90% of cases that never get filed, it's simple to understand why. people are fearful. because right now, the commander, whether it's the immediate commander or the high up dmand commander has the power to on the stop the case from proceeding even if the prosecutors say we've got an air tight case. so what we say is this. sure, you can go to your commander and report this, but the commander will have to make sure that the military investigates it, the prosecutors investigate it and if it's a case that has merit, it goes forward and nobody can stop the case. >> senator, let's -- >> this is the way it works

outside. and right now, here is the situation and i'll stop here. 26,000 cases a year of assault on women and men, half of them are against men. this is an issue that nobody pays attention to. >> right. >> 26,000 cases, half men, half women and only 10% reported. >> it's pretty amazing. as we talk about some of the other numbers, 70 estimated rapes a day, women instituting 15% of the military. senator, is the biggest thing here fear? is it the fact that there is retribution involved if there is a victim that comes forward and the fact, also, that people within the military services have seen what has happened to their friend and know that their -- that would alleviate potential problems moving forward, that basically these are sweat under the rug issues.

>> people are frightened. if you see the movie "invisible war" it puts a face to it. men and women who have been raped, who have been assaulted, who have been broke and humiliated, they report and then they are further isolated and some of them have to end their career. i mean, it is a terrible issue. and i would say this. we found out yesterday that the administration reported that of 50,000 men that they were treating who are men, 50,000 said that they were viewed sexually in the military. this was a nightmare and it has to stop and we have to give the job to the prosecutors, to the legal people, and keep the chain of command out of it. it's just not right. they are acting as judge and jury and grand jury and appeals court and everything else. it's not fair. >> no, it's way too insulated.

as you pointed out, the oscar nominated documentary, "the invisible war" i highly recommend people see it. >> shocking. >> senator barbara boxer, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. joining me now is bridgette mccoy, who noe now advocates for survivors like herself. ms. mccoy, perhaps the only good thing to come of this is getting the issue out into the open. you've been instrumental in doing that. a portion of your testimony before the senate armed services committee back in march. >> i have to say, i lo no longer have any faith or hope that the military chain of command will consistently prosecute, convict, sentence and carry out the sentencing of sexual predators in uniform without absconding justice somehow. >> ms. mccoy, do you still feel that way, hopeless? >> i'm hopeful now with the military justice improvement act coming forward.

i'm very hopeful that this change, this reform to the military justice system will make sure that people who have experienced sexual harassment and follow up in the military and rape will absolutely have justice. >> i want to show everybody the cover of this morning's usa today. it reads why the military hasn't stopped sexual abuse. in your opinion, do you think the attention on this crisis, that it's going to be enough to help turn things around? because in the article itself, it refers to war hardened culture that exists right now and century old tradition of the military. as we were talking about with the senator there, there's a culture of retribution. are those the issues that need to be cracked and exposed to make a difference? >> well, i don't think it's so much as hardened as much as is an amoral issue, taking the rights of someone else.

12 . >> i think it's not about war, it's about an act of crime. i don't think that you can train adults to have morals and values in that way. if they don't have them in place. i think you can prosecute people who have an atmosphere where rape and assault is okay. in the military, you can prosecute them and make sure that they are put out of the military and absolutely put them on a registry that can be tracked. but to say it has to do with war hardened, we've had wars with -- there are people who serve honorably who don't rape. so i don't necessarily believe that's the only problem. and i don't believe training is going to be the only thing that happens to correct the issue. >> it certainly has the attention of the president.

at 3:45 today, the join chiefs, secretary of defense chuck hagel all taking up this issue with the president and you have strong supporters on your side. military sexual assault survivor bridgette mccoy, thanks for joining us. i appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate your time. tornados hit in north texas. at least six people are dead, dozens more injured. we'll take you there live as the search for survivors continues. and new information about the boston bombing suspect. and what sources say he wrote inside the bode boat where police finally found him. time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. alex garza of dallas runs four pizza petrone grand sizes. he says latino customers are attracted by the friendly bilingual staff and mixed flavors like a jalapeno pizza. for more, watch "your business"

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voting to appeal obama care. again, the scandal lobby, recent controversy, those are two of the hot topics pitched to us today. sara covers health care policy for the washington post.

kate covers homes and joanne greel joins was, as well. it's great to have you all here. i want to start out by showing the "new york times" and what they put out today in regard to obama care in this vote coming up. it's the 43rd day that they've devoted time on this issue according to our court. it's in the upper 30s. almost 40 times there that the vote has come up on this. we all remember john boehner said this was the law of the land. >> one of the things that john boehner has said is he has a lot of -- who want to be on the record opposing this law and he's giving them the chance to vote against it. and it's easy to write off over three dozen votes as inconsequential. at the same time, we are polling showing about facilitiers and americans think that congress has repealed the laws. there is a real impact of having

these repeated votes again and again in term of how the public cares about the affordable care act. >> they have had 218 days since taking power in january of 2011. but 15% of their time on the house floor has not spent in some way on trying to repeal obama care. so, kate, where does the conversation go from here with the fact that they want to keep rehashing the same old issue? i know as sara points out, freshmen want to get on the record with how they feel about it. doesn't it seems governors are putting it into play in areas where we never thought it would go into play? >> absolutely. one house member was quoted in saying what they want to do is remind the american people of what their vision is as republicans in congress. that's what this is about. it's about keeping it on top of the radar, really about convincing people that they're doing something about this, even if they're testing basically

essentially meaningless votes. and just to keep hammering at it because, you know, essentially this is the one big thing they think they have to catch obama and to convince the public that, you happen, that democrats should be voted out of office. >> this is according to the "new york times" the least productive house that we've seen assembled in a decade. mean wile, i want to talk to joanne about the article you have up about the miami herald talking about the irs probe should be wide ranging. but the fact that we're seeing the lobbying of controversy going on in washington right now, and there is some to be discussed. i don't think progressives and people on the left can shoo this under the rug to say there aren't some abuses of people, to figure out how this happened. but you figure that this review should not just be one that looked specifically at the tea party's complaint. >> yeah. i think what's interesting is just to pull in your previous discussion. the reason they're trying to vote for obama care says the

word obama is in it. and i think the right has been focused on reminding its base over and over and over that what they're in washington to do is to get at barack obama. only a third of the people that were targeted by the irs, there were democratic groups that had their review of their 501(c)4 takes time and some of them got their c-4 continues. there's a focus and it's all about one person, barack obama. they're able to convene the scandal culture in washington. let's face it. a lot of people in washington don't have a close relationship. there are a lot of people on capitol hill in both parties that aren't that fond of the administration. so the right has been good at harnessing the agenda and of this scandal cultural in washington because they're focused on the president. but the irs has a long history of poe lit sized action and abuse after its leaders spoke out against president obama. you had 20 states had their

voters looked at by the irs for their political affiliation in '06. there's a long history. let's include it all. >> when we look at an article by zerbina max well, it says obama is in the cross hairs as washington scandal culture kicks into overdrive. some people are calling this the second term curse. do you think there that there really is a second term curse or the fact that there really is issue after issue that ready needs to be discussed? especially when it comes to what the administration is allowing to happen under its purview at the department of justice or over at the irs. >> well, i think julie ann is absolutely right. we have a scandaled culture here in washington that republicans are particularly good at capitalizing on. and we see that especially with this irs probe. i think the bigger problem of the irs is that we have pretty unclear rules about what before is and what qualifies and what qualifies as political activity. obviously, the irs staffers don't even understand the rules.

so i think that's a broader issue that is not about whether it's right wing or left wing groups that need to be addressed. we are expecting to hear from speaker boehner in this half hour. kate, you say there should be a bigger scandal when it comes to plan b and the fact that we're not talking about what's going on with that issue more. >> well, i think that absolutely one of the real concerns about the obama administration has been about transparency and about who they came into office pledging to be, very open and transparent and to uphold scientific integrity and to not let politics interfere with decision making and as we've seen in court, the department of justice is challenging a decision that plan b should be made available to all women, regardless of their age, and each as the fda scientists have said yes, it should be available

and yet the doj is challenging this and, really, carrying on a court case that's been going on for a decade now. >> is there a transparency issue with the administration when it comes to what's going on with plan b, the fact that we're not pushing that in terms of getting to the bottom of it and talking about what the obama administration is going surrounding that more? >> yeah, i think they have definitely checked out the steer stance on this. and you saw this about a year ago and a few weeks ago, that there's a disagreement between the fda scientists and the white house over what is appropriate with this drug. i don't know that we know a ton about the decision-making process, but i would say we do have some transparency on what the fda has said, which is that this product plan b should be available to all women over to court and what the white house says they don't feel like there's enough evidence about how this effects 12 yierlds, really young girls who are sexually active. within what their stances are. there might be secrecy about how

they got there, but we know where they are on this issue and it's been there for a while. >> ladies, i want to ask you to stand by. john boehner has stepped out. let's listen. >> some progress has been made and republicans will continue to work to scrap the law in its entirety so we can push focus on patient-centered reforms that lower cost and product jobs. because jobs is what this is all about. these are the thousands and thousands of pages of obama care regulations. and if we want jobs, we need to get away from this because this is keeping employers from hiring employees around the country. we want to improve the prospects for creating jobs in our country. listen, jobs is our primary

focus, but while we're focused on that, we're also focused on holding this administration accountable. our committees are working overtime to uncover the truth about what happened in libya. and they're trying to get to the bottom of what happened in the irs scandal. now, public service requires humili humility. and everyone in public office needs to be constantly reminded that they serve the american people and it's not the other way around. americans should never be targeted or harassed by their government for their political beliefs. and if reporters' telephone calls were being monitored, the government better have a clear and convincing reason for doing so. and when the american people -- or americans are killed abroad, the government should tell the truth. not shade it or stonewall it for partisan purposes. our system requires the bonds of

trust between the american people and their government. and those bonds, once broken, are very hard to repair. nothing dissolves the bonds between the people and their government like the arrogance of power here in washington. and that's what the american people are seeing today from the administration. remarkable arrogance. this house will stop at nothing to get to the american people, the answers and the accountability that they expect. but the best way to repair this damage is for the administration to come forward with the truth. the whole truth so that the american people will have all of the facts. >> mr. speaker, can you say that people should vote, are you talking about the front line management who came up with this inappropriate criteria or are you talking about the top brass -- >> i think i want to see the

facts. i want to know how this happened, who was responsible for it. it's clear that there is law, section 7214 of the title 26 of the u.s. code states very clearly, any officer or employee of the united states act iing i connection with any revenue law of the united states who was guilty of extortion or willful oppression under the color of law shall be dismissed from office and if convicted be fined up to $10,000 and spend five years in jail. we need to know where the facts are. somebody made a decision to do this. and i doubt that there were low level employees in the since suns field office. >> we've been listening to john boehner and his briefing talking about obama care, not missing the opportunity to talk about benghazi, the irs situation as

well as the ap situation. sara w you're all watching with me. joanne, i want to start with you because john boehner brings up the arrogance of power a lot and especially when we're talking about what happened with the irs, he wants to get the facts, but this is the second time in my memory that he keeps bringing up jail. >> yes. >> and yesterday he said someone needs to get fired, but someone also needs to go to jail. he brought it up there. in the appears of facts, intimidation of jail seems to be a big threat. >> it's amazing. and i was writing in all of the things that john boehner was bringing in in those comments, benghazi, libya, altogether tied into an arrogance of power. i think what you're seeing is the narrative in ride wing media that is that has taken hold of the base. all now fused together as the republican agenda on capitol hill. right now, this is not about legislating any more. this is about john boehner, who

was seen as an outsider to the tea party movement within the party bringing together all of the conspiracy theories, all of the fear of the obama administration under one umbrella. now we see the right wing media brought inside. this is all they're going to do. one-third of the house republicans led committees are investigating the obama administration for something or other. this is how they get their base. >> certainly no matter where you fall in terms of color wise, red, blue, others, if there are abuses of power going on around washington, d.c., the american peb has every right to know. if there are consequences, so be it. but it was just last year when we were watching how the right was criticizing the president and he was out front on that, too, talking about the leaks and the issue of leaks happening from the white house concerning foreign issues and domestic safety. now it seems as though the right

has gotten a way to pigeon hole the president not just in the leaks itself but how they went about trying to shore up those leaks. >> right. i think it seems like to go back to what we've been talking about, that we're in this week of scandal culture. i feel like right now you're seeing some of it fall apart. we've had the irs reports come out. we've had some of the benghazi e-mails. we've seen some of it die down. but this has been a pretty pervasive scene for months previously and probably going forward. i don't expect we're going to stop hearing about these issues. >> kate, is there an opportunity for the right here to overplay their hand, especially when it comes to issues of big policy? and i'm talking about immigration, also the environment. i know keystone is still very hot in washington, d.c. right now. >> you know, i think the issue is that there are a lot of other issues that the american public really wants to see dealt with.

immigration being one of them. environmental issues being another one. and that these scandals sort of serve to distract from that. i think they risk overplaying their hand. but what we see is they are repeating those key words about skabls and even you saw boehner there saying we should perhaps people should be in jail regarding the irs scandal when perhaps the reports didn't refers to justice. the idea that there's criminal activity here is pretty farfetched. all they need to do is create the impression that there's something bigger going on here than there really is and i think it will win. >> when it comes to government intrusion, certainly the tea party in this country, joanne, they have shown their frustration. at least in 2010, they were pretty vocal about it. now, by 2014, certainly these instances might help re-ignite the right and the tea party. >> and i think it's been clear for a long time that the tea party is the base of the republican party. they have a name and they've

been given a movement, kind of feel because they call themselves the tea party. but they have the base of the republican party been and their energy was dissipated by the 2012 election because the standard barrier, mitt romney, was not one of them. but now you are seeing they are bringing everyone in, including john boehner, he is supposedly obsessed by benghazi. so this is the way they're going so be fired up again. now they have a cause, the irs. >> sara, kate, joanne, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for sticking around with me. we want to shift gears and bring you to the congressman right now. sir, it's good to have you here. i want to get straight to what the washington post dana millbank calling here a testimony at yesterday's hearing saying when the justice department undermines the constitution, refusal is no execution. when we talk about specifically the testimony of eric holder, do you think that holds merit? and should eric holder be taking more responsibility for the

actions of the justice department with specific regard to the ap-specific subpoenas? >> well, you know, i think back to 2007 when i was called upon to vote for a shield law to give them a basis to quack subpoenas. so the reality is, congress cannot advocate its own responsibilities. we should have passed the law that would have made this kind of thing extremely difficult to do. that would have been better. in terms of what eric holder said, you know, i can't really tell you what should have taken the responsibility. i'll say this. congress shall make no law, right? and i don't think this is the right -- i think this is the right time for people to step up and think about what they could have done to stop the drajty. more importantly, how we make sure it does not happen again.

>> i just want to remind people of the fact that the president is going to be congress up at the top of the hour. certainly he will be fielding a lot of questions concerning the ap and the irs as well as benghazi. but specifically back to the shield law, chuck schumer has been talking about reinvigorating that. what have you heard about the shield law coming up and getting more back into it? >> well, it's what the moment calls for. it's what we should be doing. i hope that as people are talking about doing something about this ap story, that we do something about passing some legislation to make sure it does not happen again. so there's a lot of buzz around the capital about it. but at the end of the day in the house, you know, it depends on what john boehner wants to do. i mean, but, you know, this is a -- i'm going to vote no on repealing obama care and, of course, this benghazi story, which has been beat to death, is

something they don't want to let go of, either. honestly, other than retread and scandal mongering, i can't say what the speaker is going to bring up for a vote, but i'd like to vote on darrell issa ch their mind. >> congressman keith elson. you'll be casting later today, almost your 40th no vote on obama care. thank you, sir. thank you, thank you, much appreciated. we've asked you to hit twitter and facebook to answer our big question. white house damage control, has the president done enough when it comes to the scandals plaguing his administration. check out the pages right now. for just 25 dollars! first get salad and cheddar bay biscuits. then choose from a variety of seafood entrées. plus choose either an appetizer or a dessert to share. offer ends soon at red lobster! where we sea food differently. starts with ground beef, onions and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home.

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new this hour, the organizer of the boston marathon is inviting all runners from this year's race who were unable to finish, to take part next year. the bombing stopped the race just before 3:00 p.m., more than 5,000 people were unable to cross the finish line to complete the marathon. if you watch just one thing, it should be this interview with a

former friend and protege of michael jackson now turned accuser, alleging sexual abuse. in 2005 wayne robison was a star witness in michael jackson's molestation trial. now robison who is 30 years old claims that jackson sexually abused him for a four year period. robison sat down with "today's" matt lauer this morning. >> from the work you did with michael jackson and now what you allege is sexual abuse by michael jackson, when i say his name to you this morning, what do you think of? >> heartbreak. pain. anger. and compassion. there's -- you know there's no excuse for what he did to me. and i believe many others. but he was a troubled man. and every effect has its cause. the image that one presents to the world is not the whole

explanation of who someone is. you know, michael jackson was yes, an incredibly talented artist. with an incredible gift. he was many things, and he was also a pedophile and a child sexual abuser. >> jackson's family has responded, calling the accusations outrageous and sad. that's going to wrap things up for me today, thanks for your time, i'll see you back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. joining me then is congresswoman diane black and msnbc contributor, jimmy williams. "now" comes up next. >> president obama is juggling a trio of controversies as he gets set to tackle the issue of syria. at a joint news conference with the prime minister of turkey. we'll bring you the president's remarks live and we will discuss the gop's fixation on scandal. with jonathan capehart, maggie haverman.

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at ducktherapy.com. damage control or in control? sts thursday, may 16th, and this is "now." we're awaiting a joint press conference at the white house between president obama and the prime minister of turkey. the president is expected to face tough questions about a recent string of government controversies or as they're colloquially known, the three-headed hydra. on wednesday he addressed a trifecta of concerns. the white house asked senator chuck shumer to reintroduce a media shield law, which would help protect the media's right to keep sources, information and correspondence confidential. amid rumors regarding state department and c.i.a. back and

forth on benghazi. the white house publicly released 100 emails showing the evolution of the benghazi talking points. and following revelations of the irs targeting conservative groups, the president accepted the resignation of the acting commissioner of the irs and issued a stern warning. >> it's inexcusable and americans are right to be angry about it and i am angry about it. i will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the irs. given the power that it has and the reach that it has in all of or lives. >> his statement drew a weirdly and uncharacteristically apolitical response from republican house oversight chair, darrell issa. >> if the president set exactly the right tone. i think that immediate relieving of an acting commissioner who had made false statements and misled congress is an extremely good first step. >> having said that, plenty of other republicans remained eager to return to political battle. following the president's remark l